This week, Back Of The CAGE caught up with the #28 ranked senior on Long Island and from Comsewogue High School, Jake Deacy for our weekly Senior Spotlight series interviewing a new senior each week.
Jake Deacy was an equal-opportunity scorer and distributor, picking up 35 goals and 35 assists this season for Comsegue High School. He’ll be committing at Marist College because of how Coach Wilks made him see & feel how's it like being with the Team. Let's see what else he'll achieve in his college years as an Attackman.
Q&A w/ Jake Deacy
Back Of The CAGE (BOTC): When you found out last year that the season was going to be canceled, what was your initial reaction and how did you deal with it and keep your spirits up? Jake Deacy(JD):: The day we found out that the season was cancelled we all really didn’t want to believe it at first. A bunch of the guys still got together to play but as time went on, it became more and more apparent that the season probably wouldn’t happen. It was hard at first but we all just kept our heads up because we knew this wouldn’t last forever. We knew that we would have a season next year so we started practicing before any other team. Ever since Mother’s Day of 2020 we would practice ever Sunday wherever we could. We would find any open field big enough to play we did.
BOTC: What is your favorite saying from your Coach Tom? JD:: This saying that my dad has said to me and to the rest of the team, he has said for probably a decade now. It’s “don’t be notIntelligent”. It’s very simple but it has a lot of meaning behind it. Just simply thinking about what the outcomes are if you do something of if you don’t. Like out on the lacrosse field if you try to be selfish and run through three guys or find the open man for the assist. Or even just hanging out with friends. It would keep us grounded and remind us that there’s a bigger picture in mind and that a little thing that you could do now could impact you in the future without realizing. But its just a life quote that my friends and I have engraved in us ever since we’ve started playing lacrosse. My dad has been a mentor to all of us and he’s who I inspire to be one day. The amount of hours that he put in to coach my friends and I in lacrosse is absolutely ridiculous. He’s been our coach since kindergarten so he’s always been the person we’ve all looked up to.
BOTC: Having missed out on playing last year, how much extra motivation (if any) does it give to you personally and to your teammates in the short amount of time that you guys have been practicing together?JD:: Knowing that last year didn’t happen and this year would be the final time that I got to put on the Comsewogue uniform with the same guys as I have for the past ten years really helped. It’s been the same 15 guys I’ve played with forever and to know this year was the last time after missing out on last year, we knew we needed to do something special. We’ve always had each other’s backs from the start and it’ll always be that way because we’re more than just teammates. We’re brothers, a Band Of Brothers.
BOTC: Although you missed last season, how much more will you treasure this season as this will be the last time that you will be playing high school lacrosse before going on to play at the collegiate level? JD:: This year was very special to us players, the coaches, the school, and the community itself. Our town lives off of lacrosse. It showed in school too because we’ve been raised by some amazing parents. The teachers and staff in school respected us and loved teaching us as mush as we respected them. I don’t think there is another school out there was their principal of the High School and the Superintendent are handing out waters to the players during timeouts. The community is one giant family. So those were the people we played for this year and there was not a better feeling when the County game ended and the crowd exploded with excitement. It was 11 years since Comsewogue has brought home the title so to bring it back after missing out on the season before, it was a great way to end a crazy and difficult year.
BOTC: What made you choose to attend Brown University, and what other colleges were you considering? JD:: I went up to Marist for a prospect day during the summer before coaches could talk to us so I got to go through a practice with Coach Wilks and see what he was like and tour the campus. I loved every second of it. It had what I was looking for and Coach Wilks made me feel like I was already on the team before I was even there. I was looking into a couple other schools like Binghamton, Albany, Stony Brook, and LIU but nothing really compared to Marist.
BOTC: Are you superstitious and do you have any pre-game rituals?JD:: I definitely have some things that I did this year that I was superstitious about. I would always wear the same hat to school on game days. Also the first song I would play when I got in my truck was “Bawitaba” by Kid Rock. It would always get me fired up and ready to play. Lastly for away games, I would have to sit in the same seat with the same teammate, James Mantione, on the bus ride to the games.
BOTC: What's on your playlist before games?JD:: A lot of old school Rock & Roll because it always got me pumped. Kid Rock and Guns N’ Roses were my top two artists with some Mötley Crüe and Skid Row in there too.
Rapid Fire Q & A's:
- Favorite Food? Pizza
- Favorite Movie? Talladega Nights
- Favorite Sports Team? New York Rangers
- Favorite Athletes? Dale Earnhardt Jr
See some of Jake's career athletic accomplishments below: 2019 All Division with 25 goals and 17 assists, 2021 All American Honorable Mention with 35 goals and 35 assists and 7th in points in Suffolk County, 2x Top 20 Suffolk regional team, 2x NYS regional champions, 2019 NYS regional all star team
